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His eyes widened and his teeth began to grind together. “How did you?—”
“I don’t want to use this on you. I don’t want to kill you. My fight is not with you, and you have done me no harm, but if you are lying in any way or try to hurt those who I love, I will not hesitate to use this on you. Are we clear?” I asked.
He nodded, tilting his head. “Out of curiosity, why do you want me to kill your people?”
“They aren’t my people,” I said between my teeth.
“Not completely true,” he said, pointing to his ears.
I rolled my eyes, taking the headband from my ears. “How did you know?”
“I can smell you. It’s a delightful smell by the way. Makes my mouth water.” He smiled and licked his lips.
“You are not to tell anyone about my mixed blood either,” I said firmly.
“Well, you are no fun,” he hissed, folding his arms across his chest as if he was a toddler throwing a tantrum.
“I am allowing you to kill as many light alfar as you wish. How is that not fun?” I said, reveling at the thought.
He laughed, stretching his arms in the air. “You’re quite wicked. I like you, meat suit. Now, can we please remove the iron? It burns, and I’d rather not mark up my new body just yet.”
I was hesitant to even get close to him, but I had to for this to work. I held the apophyllite dagger in my hand as I removed the iron chains. He was small, only coming up to my chest. He continued to smile and purr as his sniffed me and moaned anytime I got too close.
“Do as I have asked,” I said nervously.
He moved so fast I didn’t see where he had gone. I turned around, searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a cold hand knocked into me, and I dropped the apophyllite dagger. It fell to the floor as Otar slammed me into the wall. His yellow eyes seemed brighter than before. He slowly leaned his face into mine. His long tongue extended out, licking ever so slowly from my jaw to my eye. He pulled away, flashing those sharp teeth.
“Delicious,” he whispered in a deep, hunting voice while drawing the word out. “I will do as I am ordered with pleasure,” he said.
I blinked and he was gone without a trace. I rushed to the dagger to arm myself, but he didn’t reappear. I was shaking with fear. I quickly gathered my supplies and left the room, turning to check behind me every few steps.
I made my way back to Gaelin’s room and entered quietly, making sure not to disturb him. I hid the bag in the armoire and went to the bathroom to bathe. Sitting in the warm water, I traced the black raised skin of the imprint on my wrist. I smiled at it, knowing this was a marking I would always be proud to wear.
I crawled into bed, still nervous about the shadows in the room. Either Otar was truthful, and my visions had been correct, or I had just freed something else that wanted to kill me. Either way, my suffering would soon be over. Gaelin shifted slowly in the bed and turned towards me. His eyes opened heavily to look up at me. I smiled at him.
“I’m okay,” I whispered.
He exhaled, reaching for me. I allowed him to wrap his arms around my waist even though the sensation made me want to run for the hills.
“We’re going to get through this in one piece. It will get better. I promise,” I whispered, settling down into the bed.
Chapter 24
The next morning, I woke up refreshed and rejuvenated. Truth be told, I was a little relieved Otar had not found me and killed me in my sleep. I guess what he told me about our lives being linked was true. If I died, so would he. I checked my wrist, making sure the imprint was still there. I traced my finger around the black design. Gaelin was still sound asleep. I leaned over and kissed him on the head. “Your suffering ends today,” I whispered softly.
I got out of bed and dressed, making sure to choose a dress that hid my favorite new adornment. I strapped the apophyllite dagger to my thigh, just in case. I went to the main hall and gathered breakfast for Gaelin, bringing it back just as he was waking. I sat the tray on the bed with a smile on my face. He looked at me apprehensively; I hadn’t brought him breakfast in bed since before the battle with Otar had started.
“Are you okay?” he asked wearily.
“Just trying to get back to a sense of normalcy,” I responded.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to. Find the smallest moments of happiness. That’s what I tell myself. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
He smiled at me, picking up his fork and digging in. I didn’t know how he and I would change after tonight, but anything was better than our current situation.
I watched him dress in his uniform. He kept turning to me as if surprised I was still in the room. I smiled at him each time and he laughed uncomfortably, no doubt uncertain of my behavior. Once he was finished, I pricked my finger with a pin from my hair and made my way over to him. I kissed him softly on the lips, pulling back with a smile on my face.